Twins
by Spark Vallen
Summary: The life and times of three Jedi on a mission to rescue kidnapped children on Corellia (original characters) - COMPLETED
1. The Dark Night of the Soul

Naturally, I don't own any direct phrases or concepts that George Lucas and Lucasfilm would prefer I did not own. I suppose I own "Spark Vallen" since she is me ;) and Jana Vnukova is my friend for whom I am crafting this tale.  
  
Enjoy! :)  
  
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Chapter One -   
  
By standard time, these were the wee hours at the Force Academy. The darkest time of night where one wouldn't see his hand waving before his eyes, it was so dark. In that darkness, many Jedi were still awake, meditating, studying, watching the HoloNet, or focusing on some other task at hand.   
  
During these dark hours, two Jedi remained awake, lying on their sleep couches, staring and thinking. They had no idea the other was awake and soul searching, so closed in from the Force were their personal energies.  
  
Content but confused, Spark Vallen lay with her hands behind her neck and her legs crossed at the ankle. Her room was shrouded in complete darkness, having re-arranged the curtains on the window so they didn't let in even the slightest sliver of moonlight.   
  
Her role at the Force Academy was largely self-defined, that of an associate mentor and teacher. It meant that she traveled the journey (at present) without rank, but that troubled her not. In fact, it amused her for it set up more questions than answers about the Jedi, her life and the path... which was how she preferred to teach. She led a comfortable existence with the Force Academy to call home while she still performed various missions as-needed on her home system of Correlia.   
  
The first lines of a verse she'd heard of a song on an Outer Rim planet haunted Spark's mind during the night: If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad... She'd heard it several years ago on a mission that had sent her from the Force Academy's quiet campus world to Correlia and beyond to the Outer Rim. The words came back to her, puzzling her state-of-mind further.  
  
"What is it that bothers me?" she whispered.  
  
Two floors below and several rooms eastward in the Light Jedi dormitory lay Jana Vnukova on her sleep couch. She too had pulled the curtains tight so that no exterior light shined in. Her fists were clenched at her sides as she lay on her back. Jana's brow was pinched in concentration; hot, angry tears streamed freely, sliding down her cheek and onto the pillow.  
  
She was a Jedi Padawan to one of the most senior members of the teaching staff and Jedi Council at the Force Academy. Jana held a coveted role to many of the students and was afforded private instruction on a daily basis. There were rumors that she'd soon face the Jedi Trials where she'd likely prove her competence as a student and earn the title of Jedi Knight.   
  
Emotions flooded Jana from within and outside; she worked with her shielding exercises as best as she knew how, but still, the feelings overwhelmed. Unable to control them, Jana let them wash over her and attempted to ride the wild current.  
  
"What is going on?" she whispered. 


	2. Night Owls

Naturally, I don't own any direct phrases or concepts that George Lucas and Lucasfilm would prefer I did not own. I suppose I own "Spark Vallen" since she is me ;) and Jana Vnukova is my friend for whom I am crafting this tale. . . . . . . Twins: Chapter Two  
  
The common area, more affectionately known as "The Lounge" was quiet but hardly empty even at the late hour. It was a galactic neighborhood and Jedi and staff from all parts of the galaxy were up at strange hours in order to connect on a personal and professional level, matching other systems' time zones.  
  
Tucked into a corner of the room on a non-reclining chair was Spark, with her right leg tucked underneath herself. Her brow was creased in a frown while her gaze remained unfixed.  
  
Jana stuck her head through the sliding door of The Lounge and peered around almost cautiously. Anyone watching her would have thought she expected to be attacked right there in the social area by her movements. _Maybe I am more right about that than they would think,_ Jana thought to herself.  
  
She stepped in and scanned the faces of the late-night crowd. Off in one corner with a steel blade stood Xaverri, his posture a mask of concentration. Hunched over a datapad and tea sat Adi Klem. He looked up and smiled at Jana. She nodded toward him and continued to study the room.   
  
_There she is! But do I go over and speak with her?_  
  
Jana steeled her nerves and forced herself to approach Spark Vallen. They'd only spoken a handful of times but those occassions were in the context of lecture study.  
  
"Master... er... I... Jedi... Vallen?" she stammered.   
  
_Way to go, Jana! She's going to think you're an idiot! Can't even approach her with an appropriate title... but I don't know what her title is, really! Stupid!_ Jana was surprised to see that Spark just smiled patiently - with a hint of amusement in her eyes - and said, "Don't worry, Jana. Even _I_ don't know what I'm supposed to be called around here these days. You're up late, aren't you?"  
  
She stood with her hands pressed against the sides of her thighs. "I... yes, I am." Jana risked a grin. "But then, so are you."  
  
"Yeah. I'll pay for this at 0800 when I have to be at the Archives doing research, but oh well. Why don't you have a seat with me for awhile?" Spark suggested.  
  
Jana sat down across from her in a similar chair.   
  
"What's keeping you up tonight?" Spark asked.   
  
"I am... having trouble with... some emotions," she managed to admit. "I couldn't sleep."   
  
"You too?"  
  
_You too? But Master... er, Vallen seems so calm and collected!_   
  
"I, yes, Mas--"   
  
"Just call me Spark. That'd be easier." She grinned tiredly.   
  
Jana let her guard down a centimeter. "These emotions I feel consume me. Haunt me."   
  
"I assume Master Faulkner's taught you proper shielding techniques?"   
  
"Of course. Many I knew before I came to study here," she said matter-of-factly. "But they do not keep the troubles out."   
  
"And you've tried 'going with the flow' too," Spark said, nodding.   
  
_A statement. Not a question,_ Jana noticed. "Yes."   
  
"I wish I had an answer or good suggestion for you, Jana." Spark help up her hands helplessly. "But I don't. I tend to think that mastering those emotions comes only from inner tutoring."  
  
Jana sighed and glanced out the window at the night. The moon cast eerie shadows across the landscape. "Why are you up so late?" she finally asked.   
  
"Similar story," she replied with a shrug. "Couldn't sleep and got tired of trying to see the ceiling in the pitch black."  
  
"Pitch black room for you too?" Jana smiled.  
  
"Nothing but! So I came down here to at least change positions while I sit and think."   
  
"Are... are emotions bothering you too?"  
  
"In that I feel somewhat confused, yeah."  
  
Jana cocked her head to the side and watched Spark intently. "Confused about what?"  
  
"I don't know. I just feel confused."   
  
"And clearing your chakras hasn't helped?"   
  
Spark smiled. "You know my routine?"   
  
"We must have the same one."   
  
"Anyway, no, it didn't help. And neither did pure and simple meditation. There's _something_ going on, I almost think."   
  
"Yes! That is what I thought too!" she exclaimed.   
  
"Some of the Masters here might say we are reading too much into our own problems by thinking there is something going on," Spark was quick to add.   
  
"I know."   
  
Spark yawned. "How sure are you that it is something else other than our own emotions?"   
  
"I can't say how sure _I_ am, Spark. I am but an apprenti--"   
  
She waved a hand to silence Jana. "No. Don't go the rank route with this. Please. Just tell me what you feel."   
  
Jana frowned. She almost hated it when the teachers called her on a behavior like that. _But I **am** an apprentice! I don't know everything a full Jedi Knight knows! So how should I **know** if it is something else or my own stupid emotions?!_ Jana took a deep breath, held it for a four-count then slowly exhaled.  
  
"I feel that there is something... wrong. Somewhere. I don't know where. But it's big."  
  
Spark nodded with a slight smile at the corner of her mouth. "Okay, that is how I feel too. So what are we going to do about it?"  
  
Jana's eyes bugged out. "You and me? What do you--?"  
  
"With the Council's permission, of course," she said easily. "I've learned the hard way--" she paused to laugh, "--not to just run off in the middle of the night on a self-endorsed mission."  
  
"So I've heard," Jana blurted. She gasped when she realized she'd spoken aloud.  
  
Spark only laughed harder. Fighting to get back in control, she said, "I guess my reputation precedes me! Okay. Yeah. We'll talk with the Council and share what intuitions we have. Then, we'll request permisssion to study this further and investigate if need be."   
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"Do I look like I'm joking?"   
  
Jana gave her a wary stare and said nothing.   
  
"Okay, bad question to ask, considering," Spark said, grinning. "And yes, I _am_ serious."  
  
"Okay, Spark. I'll trust you on this--"  
  
"Trust me?" she interrupted. "Oh no, never do something because you trust me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Really. Trust _yourself_. My visions take me to strange places that few understand. In the game of Jedihood, you have to trust yourself."   
  



	3. Standing on Ceremony

Naturally, I don't own any direct phrases or concepts that George Lucas and Lucasfilm would prefer I did not own. I suppose I own "Spark Vallen" since she is me ;) and "Jana Vnukova" is my friend for whom I am crafting this tale. Any other character references signify on "real life characters" found at . ;)   
  
  
  
**Twins**, III  
  
Spark vallen and Jana Vnukova waited patiently on a bench outside the Council chambers, hands folded in their laps. They'd both arrived early for their impromptu audience with the Jedi Council. Spark wore robes that were so dark they looked more black than navy blue over a beige tunic and pants. Jana wore a traditional brown robe over the same beige/cream outfit.  
  
The chamber doorway hissed open and Jedi Knight Kir-wan Queren exited briskly, her facial expression composed, but her energy field gave her away. The Jedi was "bouncing off the walls" with joy.  
  
"Hey Kir," Spark said, smiling at her former apprentice.  
  
"Spark! Jana!" She ran over to hug both of them. "What're you both doing up here?"  
  
"Audience with the Council. What else?" Spark said easily.  
  
Jana nodded at that, with far less confidence than Spark seemed to display.  
  
"What were you doing in there?"  
  
Kir-wan winked. "Oh, you know. Progress reviews and all of that."  
  
She nodded.   
  
"I guess that means they are ready for you. May the Force be with you!"  
  
"Thanks," they said in unison.   
  
Jana laughed and added, "We are like twins sometimes, Spark!"  
  
_I was thinking the very same thing,_ she thought to herself. Straightening her robe, Spark took a calming breath and then stepped forward to enter the Jedi Council chamber.  
  
Much like the main Temple on Coruscant, the chamber was round. Twelve chairs were arranged in a three-quarters circle so that the interviewee could see each Council member easily. And vice versa. Only five of the chairs were occupied that morning, as Spark and Jana entered.  
  
"So, Spark, Jana, what brings you down here?" Jedi Master Joni C asked.  
  
Without preamble, Spark explained, "Both Jana and I have had troubling emotions and sensations recently. We believe that the root of these may be some form of unrest that is calling. To us, I mean. We'd like the Council's permission to research and investigate these experiences as a potential issue."  
  
Jana looked over at her mentor. Mark watched her, but otherwise gave no indication of feeling either way at Spark's declaration.  
  
"Well. We appreciate your coming down here _this time_, Jedi Vallen," the Council Leader, Aaron Seeker said. He smiled knowingly.  
  
Spark bowed from the neck, smiling back.  
  
"Naturally, the first instinct would be to think that these emotions you've described are internal in nature rather than external," he went on. "Have you both explored this possibility?"  
  
Both women knew that their pasts were checkered and that the Council would likely ask this of them first. After all, their own emotions had tended to get the better of them in the past. _Yet another thing we have in common. Bizarre_, thought Spark.  
  
"Yes," she and Jana said. Spark added, "We had both explored our emotions in great detail, independently. Last night, we met up by chance in The Lounge and learned that we were both feeling the same way."  
  
Joni, Aaron, Sapharin, Mark and Aldar nodded simultaneously.  
  
"Is there any other information you'd want to share about this. Jana?"  
  
She glanced toward her mentor again. "I feel the situation is very dangerous, Master. Something is wrong that needs our attention."  
  
Aaron and Joni looked to each other, conferring silently. Finally, Aaron said, "The Coucnil will want to discuss this. To be honest, I'm glad you're asking to do research first rather than wishing to jump into a mission that will take you on a wild goose chase. That shows growth for you both." He paused. "But, we'll want to meditate on this and decide the best course for you both and the situation you believe is at hand."  
  
Jana shifted and started to speak but Spark signalled with a slight hand movement. She waited.  
  
"You may go. We'll contact you when we've reached a decision," Joni said.  
  
Both Jedi bowed to the few Council members and retreated.  
  
  
  
****************   
  
  
  
"Why did you have me be quiet?" Jana demanded, once they were outside the Council chamber. "Did you not hear how Master Seeker spoke to us? He didn't take us seriously at all!"  
  
"Jana," Spark said patiently as they walked to the turbolift, "Aaron has a funny way of talking sometimes. He'll say things that make you _think_ he means something to test your reaction, even if he believes the opposite. And... really, we are both somewhat a risk. That much is true, correct?"  
  
Reluctantly, she nodded. "We are. I have failed much here."  
  
"No! That's not what I mean. Look at things from the Council's eyes if you can. We just gave them vague information and we both do have a past, sure. They are testing us always as much as the Force is testing us. This is just one more."  
  
"Do you believe then that they'll grant us the time to research and investigate this?"  
  
Spark bit her lip, thinking. "I honestly don't know. We can only wait and see."  
  
Jana frowned as they stepped into the turbolift. "Do you think Mark is upset with me for not telling him this first?"  
  
"Do you?"  
  
She thought about the question, thrown back at her. "No... I don't think so. But who can read the mind of a Jedi Master?"  
  
_Who indeed,_ Spark thought. 


	4. Surprises Back Home

All the standard disclaimer stuff about not owning the _Star Wars_ Universe. ;) Mr. Lucas and Company do! I claim the original characters.  
  
  
  
**Twins**, IV   
  
--"sparkvallen"  
  
  
  
"Spark, I really can't believe you were able to convince the Council to let us work on this together," Jana remarked, looking up from her datapad.  
  
The Archivist, Braum Sydon, glanced over at them from his desk.  
  
Spark smiled back at the fair haired young man then gestured to Jana that they had to speak more quietly. "Hey, I'm as surprised as you, to be honest, Jana," she said. "I wasn't sure they were going to go for it either."  
  
"It feels nice to have your word respected, doesn't it?"  
  
The elder Jedi arched an eyebrow at the question, then winked. "We'd best keep looking though or we'll waste the three days we have to come up with something tangible."  
  
"What _are_ we looking for, though?"  
  
Spark pitched forward in her seat to sit on her right leg. "Any evidence of large scale unrest that we might have sensed. Or perhaps, some sort of incident even here on the campus. I'm not sure. I think we'll know it when we find it."  
  
Jana returned to the datapad to continue searching without another word. They had already spent the morning going through the galactic news holos that Braum had already prepped for them. Nothing.  
  
"Spark, maybe this is it?" She moved the datapad so that she could see it better. "Look."  
  
Spark read in a whisper, "Kidnappings in Rural Correlia Increase. CorSec at a LOSS to Uncovering Operation." She didn't even need to read the article in full; looking up into Jana's eyes, she said, "This is it, isn't it?"  
  
"I feel the same confusion and coldness inside, just reading the title," she admitted.  
  
"I do too."  
  
"You're Correlian, aren't you?"  
  
Spark nodded. "I grew up there until I was nineteen before Garren found me and began my Jedi training."  
  
Jana read more of the article. "These are children of farmers. They go missing in the night. All the parents find are empty sleep cots with a note of warning."  
  
Spark began pulling up related articles and editorials. "It seems that this has been going on for some time," she read. "CorSec has been working on this case for nearly nine weeks already and they haven't found anything solid."  
  
"And they haven't involved the Jedi by now?"  
  
"Not that these holos indicate, no. But then again, they may have been requested from the central Temple on Coruscant too, rather than way out here. Hmm."  
  
"What?"  
  
She locked eyes with the Padawan. "Why are **we** feeling this? How does the emotional turbulence fit into this other than our knowing this is it?"  
  
Jana thought for a moment. "Perhaps its the children themselves, calling out to us?"  
  
_That's a scary thought,_ Spark thought unconsciously. "Maybe."  
  
"You don't speak in absolutes often, do you, Spark?" Jana grinned.  
  
"No, not often. Nice observation there." She smiled back. "Now. My instinct is to go to Correlia and investigate. To rescue these children. What about you?"  
  
"The same."  
  
Spark bit her lip and leaned back in her chair. "So then, we have only to convince the Council to send _us_ on a mission."  
  
"It would only make sense to send us," Jana replied. "We are the ones having the visions."  
  
"What 'makes sense' and what is 'reality' are often very different things."   
  
They stood. "We best report back with these findings."  
  
"Did you find what you were searching for?" Braum asked.  
  
The women bowed to him. "We did," Jana said. "With our thanks to you!"  
  
"Be safe, Spark, Jana. May the Force be with you both!"  
  
  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
  
  
Standing before the Jedi Council once again, Jana and Spark waited patiently as the council members reviewed the pre-report that they had assembled. Each of the five present councilors looked over the information on the Correlian kidnappings and how each incident coincided with Spark and Jana's most troubling feelings by time.  
  
Finally, Aaron spoke. "You know we would say that you - Spark - are too close to this, with it being your homeworld."  
  
She replied carefully. "Master Seeker, I haven't been back to the Correlian System since Garren selected me as his student, years ago."  
  
"You still have family there, however?" Aldar asked.  
  
"My parents, yes. I've communicated with them infrequently since my Jedi training began via the HoloNet, but nothing in the past several months."  
  
Five heads nodded and looked back to the documents.  
  
Aaron looked to Mark. "It would be your decision, Master Faulkner, if Jana is ready to go on a mission, as you are her mentor."  
  
Mark shook his head and looked up at Jana from his seat. "Jana, do you feel ready for a mission?"  
  
She froze. _He is giving **me** the choice? Is this a trick? If I say "yes", am I being too proud and over-confident? But if I say "no", is it false humility? I **am** having these feelings so I **must** be involved!_  
  
"Master, you have taught me that the Force leads us if we are open to its guidance," she said slowly. "I feel I am meant to be involved in a potential mission. Otherwise, I would not be experiencing these horrible emotions."  
  
He nodded. Jana searched for the hint of a smile or indication that she'd said the right thing but his expression remained carefully guarded.  
  
They waited in silence. Spark marvelled over the Council's ability to confer what seemed telepathically, while she and Jana were unable to even sense communication taking place right in front of them!  
  
"Jana's feeling that for some reason, you were both meant to be involved, is what the Council agrees," Sapharin said from her seat to their left. "We'll want you both to be extremely cautious since the emotions _do_ affect you. To that end, we're sending along an additional Jedi as... a precaution."  
  
"Who?" Spark asked.  
  
"Kenjiro Tanaka," Joni said.  
  
Jana blurted, "Isn't he away on a mission already?"  
  
"He just returned this morning," Joni explained. "Kenjiro's inteligence work may be useful to the mission so we have asked him to accompany you both."  
  
They nodded.  
  
"You'll depart first thing in the morning," Aaron said. "Traveling incognito as civilians so as to not arise the attention of the kidnappers _or_ Correlian Security Force. May the Force be with you."  
  
  
  



	5. Agony

Blah blah... I don't own any references to Star Wars. You already knew that, since we're on Chapter 5 now!   
  
  
  
**Twins**  
--sparkvallen  
  
"Alright ladies, so I can help you, what exactly do you know about this mission?" Kenjiro asked. He turned away from the streaming starfield out the cockpit window to look at Jana, then at Spark.  
  
"Just that there's trouble," Spark said honestly. She knew that to Kenjiro, that would sound incredibly vague but it was all she could do.  
  
"There are children hurting."  
  
"So I'd learned from the Council," he replied, nodding at Jana. "Kidnappings, they said."  
  
She shook her head affirmatively.   
  
Kenjiro - seeing that he wouldn't be able to learn more from his fellow Jedi about what to expect - sat back in the pilot's chair. "Well my friends, we'll be to Correlia in a half-day's time. Settle in and get comfortable."  
  
Jana screamed and slammed her hands against the sides of her head. At the same time, Spark shuddered and fell back into the seat, unconscious.  
  
"Jana!" Kenjiro leaped from his seat and moved to restrain her before she tumbled from the navigator's chair. He strapped her in and forcefully pulled her hands away from her head. She trembled against the restraints.  
  
He turned and quickly locked Spark into her seat.  
  
"Jana, can you hear me?" Kenjiro pushed through the Force telepathically, hoping to connect to her on an esoteric level if she couldn't be reached.  
  
She'd bitten her lip and blood trickled down her chin. Her eyes were blurred with tears. He knew this was the sign of some terrible calamity, seeing the agony that she and Spark were in. Kenjiro had felt nothing. _Nothing!_  
  
Jana failed to respond. Behind him, Spark groaned and vomited involuntarily. Kenjiro tended Jana's self-inflected wounds then tried to clean up the elder Jedi.   
  
"Spark? Can you speak? Blink once if you can hear me," he commanded.  
  
Her eyes twitched. _A blink? Maybe._  
  
"Again, Spark."  
  
Her eyes twitched a second time. Kenjiro nodded, glanced at Jana and delved deeply into the Force, pushing his energy toward Vallen. _//Spark... are you alright? What did you sense?//_  
  
Through a choked, hoarse voice, she whispered, "We. Have. To. Get. To. Correlia. Faster. They're. Dying."  
  
She collapsed against the restraints, unconscious again.  
  
  
  
+++++++++++++++   
  
  
  
Torn by Spark's warning, his concern for his colleague's well-being and the mission itself, Kenjiro decided to drop back to realspace in order to contact the Force Academy. His message went straight to Aaron Seeker.  
  
"Heed Spark's warning," was Aaron's reply over the crackling comm. unit.   
  
Kenjiro nodded though Aaron had no way to see his physical reaction. "Yes, Aaron-san. I will. We'll revert to hyperspace immediately."  
  
"May the Force be with you. Be safe."  
  
Kenjiro looked back toward Jana, then Spark. Spark gazed at him through blurred, tear-soaked eyes. She still appeared dazed. "Realspace?" she croaked.  
  
"Only for the moment," he replied. "I needed to let the Council know what happened."  
  
Her arched eyebrow asked the silent "And?"  
  
"We continue," he said, turning back to the controls.  
  
_//Jana?//_  
  
"Unconscious still," Kenjiro said, hearing Spark's question through the Force. "Do you remember anything else? What did you sense?"  
  
_//They know we're coming.//_  
  
"Who?"  
  
_//The kidnappers. It was a warning.//_ Spark winced, feeling twinges of the mental anguish again.  
  
Kenjiro pulled the lever that sent the ship back into hyperspace.   
  
"I don't know Jana's sensitivity or skill as well as I should," he said after a moment. "Is she going to be alright? She went into convulsions while you passed out."  
  
_//Don't know. Can't focus that well. Can you sense her?//_ she asked.  
  
"Yes. She's badly worn."  
  
_//We have to be on Correlia.//_


	6. Sensory Overload

_Author's Note: Hello again. New chapter, same ol' characters unless someone Correlian happens to be introduced. Otherwise, you all know that Lucasfilm owns the original Star Wars characters; I still don't. ;)  
  
  
  
_ **Twins**  
--sparkvallen  
  
Suburbs of Coronet City, Correlia. Dusk.  
  
The three Jedi - dressed in inconspicuous attire - had passed through the local planetary customs area without incident. A landspeeder taxi carried them from the urban sprawl of Coronet City out to the outlying districts that were far more rural.   
  
Kenjiro considered the droid driver then turned and whispered to Jana and Spark, "What do your senses tell you?"  
  
"Nothing yet," Spark admitted. She glanced at Jana, who then nodded in agreement.   
  
"Are you sure you're--"  
  
"Yes, Kenjiro, I'm _fine_," Jana insisted through gritted teeth. She had only returned to consciousness moments after entering Correlian space. It had taken nearly a half hour before she was fully cognizant again and two hours total before Jana could convince Spark and Kenjiro that she'd be able to retain her balance and move about.  
  
He nodded, still concerned. The mission was confusing for him; he trusted his fellow Jedi implicitly, but it was still hard to know what to do and _when_ since he failed to sense _any_ of the disturbances they felt.  
  
"Oh stang! Would you look at that!" Spark hissed, pointing out the taxi's window at a holograph ad.  
  
"What did it say?" Jana asked, having missed the ad.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "'Tour the hometown of Spark Vallen, Jedi Master! Discover her early Correlian roots. Follow the path of the farm girl to Jedi!'," she recited. "I had no idea they were giving _tours_."  
  
Kenjiro and Jana giggled at her exasperation. Several Jedi who'd not been traditionally trained - rasied at the Temple since infancy - were heralded by their home regions in such a way, they all knew.   
  
"Maybe we should take the tour," Jana suggested, smiling. "It might be interesting to learn more about you, Spark."  
  
"We can save that _fun_ until after our mission," she smirked.  
  
Consulting his datapad, he signalled to the droid taxi driver. "Anywhere in the next kilometer that you can stop would be fine, please."  
  
The droid replied, "Received" and proceded to change into the right lane to bring them closer to the edge of the road. As the sun receded beyond the horizon, Kenjiro, Jana and Spark disembarked and looked around.  
  
"The kidnappings," Jana said from the memorized news holos, "have been taking place in a radius of eight kilometers from nearly the point where we stand. The children's ages range from three months to nine standard years. All different species of creature and both genders have turned up missing. No financial distinction except that they resided in this general farming community area."  
  
Spark pointed toward the village that they would come across with a few minutes' walk. "Up there, on the outskirts of town is a small university. I _almost_ attended it, back before Garren came," she said thoughtfully. "It - and town itself - are within the eight kilometer range, of course.   
  
"This is a journey home for you in the truest sense, isn't it, Spark?"  
  
"Welcome to Sparklerville," she said sarcastically. "Now. Since we don't want to announce ourselves, we have to find information that wasn't on the holonews carefully. We can't alert the... 'natives' that we're here nor do we want to tip off local law enforcement. Any suggestions how we proceed?"  
  
Jana closed her eyes to concentrate.  
  
"I think that the university is somehow important in this, Spark," she said after a moment, her eyes re-opened. "What is out that way?" Jana pointed to the west, across the road from them.  
  
"When I still lived here, it was nothing but farms," she said. Drawing on the Force and extending her field of responsibility to the west, she immediately picked up on the dissonance that Jana had sensed. "Ah, I understand why you asked."  
  
"I don't sense anything," Kenjiro offered.  
  
"No?" they asked in unison. To Spark and Jana, the anguish and stress was palpable.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. Does it feel anywhere near as... urgent as the incident on the ship?"  
  
"Not nearly," Jana said quickly, "but its still there. Suffering. Much suffering."  
  
"What if we split up? You two head toward the farmland and I'll scout around the farmland?"  
  
"What if... we have another incident, Spark?" Jana asked.  
  
"I was quicker to recover on the ship," she pointed out, "and this way, you'll have Kenjiro there as back up if you are hit as hard as before."  
  
"I also don't like the idea of you going alone," he added.  
  
Spark held out her hands placatingly. "Look. Jana, you _know_ we don't have that much time. This goes well beyond concern for our own well-beings when the lives of children are at stake." She paused and smiled. "Trust me."  
  
To Jana, Kenjiro said, "Never trust a Correlian when she says that!"  
  
Spark chuckled and offered a bow from the neck. "Keep comlinks open," she suggested, "and buzz me if you find anything. I'll do the same if anything on the campus pans out."  
  
"May the Force be with you," Jana whispered.  
  
"Likewise."  
  
  
  
++++++++   
  
  
  
"Nothing out here but vegetables and more vegetables!" Jana whispered in the near-total-darkness.  
  
"That's generally what you find on a farm," Kenjiro replied quietly. There was laughter evident in his hushed voice.  
  
She continued to reach out through the Force, feeling drawn by an invisible rope toward some yet unseen destination in among the tall rows of vegetable plants. They'd been walking for over an hour, making their way down the narrow rows that were normally kept by field workers and simple farming droids.   
  
"I keep wondering why someone would kidnap farm children," Kenjiro wondered aloud. "And moreso, why they wouldn't demand a ransom of some kind."  
  
"And why they would purposely alert Jedi too?" Jana asked.  
  
"Well, yes, that too."  
  
"I think that the first 'message' Spark and I received was from the children themselves," she said thoughtfully. "They were calling out to us for help. The situation on the ship... I think that was the captors, letting us know that _they knew_ we knew. If that makes sense."  
  
Kenjiro nodded. "That would lead both parties to be Force sensitive, you realize."  
  
"I have thought of that. Strange."  
  
Jana stopped walking and froze to her spot, her traditional and Force senses on alert. Kenjiro - still unable to sense whatever had caught her attention - stood silently and at attention, as prepared as he could be.  
  
_//We're here.//_  
  
_//Here? In the field?//_  
  
_//Yes. There are children nearby.//_ Jana frowned, realizing that her Force communication seemed ludicrous. They still stood in the middle of acres upon acres of vegetables! Unable to see well with the sheer darkness of night, Jana used the Force to enhance her sensitivity and reached out with her empathic skills - carefully - to root out where the children were.  
  
_Just a little closer,_ she thought, edging her awareness further than she'd ever let her empathic abilities go. Jana dropped to her knees and frantically tore at the dirt with her hands. She scraped away soil and shallow roots with her fingers, clawing at the earth.  
  
"Jana! What is it?" Kenjiro whispered, falling to his knees a row over from her.  
  
She failed to respond. Her focus had become engrossed in digging.   
  
_Closer... closer...!_  
  
Her hand clamped around a large antique metal door clasp as she collapsed.  
  



	7. All this trouble for a cup of caf?

_Did you know that I don't own anything "Star Wars" and that George Lucas does? ;) Original characters are Spark, Kenjiro and Jana and anyone else that's not found anywhere in official "Star Wars" canon. Otherwise, on with the show!_   
  
  
**Twins**  
--sparkvallen  
  
The university campus was subdued; few persons mingled outdoors. There was a light wind that carried the scent of spicy cooked meats; the smell of homemade Correlian food made Spark's mouth water. She ignored her hunger, keeping her attention focused on any subtleties around the school.  
  
The path she'd taken to enter the campus grounds was lined with deciduous trees along the left whose leaves lightly rustled. On the right were multi-story buildings. Not much had changed since Spark had had her interview there several years earlier. The quietude of the campus was disconcerting, however. There were few people mingling around the campus, and those who were spoke in hushed voices that failed to carry in the breeze. Furtive glances at Spark made her wonder what was going on on the university campus that had students and staff looking so paranoid.  
  
_Connected to the kidnappings?_   
  
The student union was nearly deserted when she walked into the large rectangular building. The caf shop was open though its employee, a lanky female human, was dozing at the counter. At a quick glance, Spark only noticed two students actually sitting on the couches, engrossed in datapads.  
  
Walking to the caf kiosk with the pretense of ordering, Spark attempted to strike up a conversation with the employee to gather information. "Quiet night, eh?"  
  
"Whaddya want?" the woman snapped. Her accent was definitely that of a Coruscant native, a voice that had the inflections of a million worlds but none distinguishable.  
  
"Anything with chocolate in it," Spark said, non-plussed by the rebuke.  
  
While the caf was prepared, she tried a different approach. "I'm new to the school... is this the regular amount of activity here in the evening? Kinda lame."  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Spark sighed inwardly. Reaching out with the Force more, she projected her energy toward the caf attendant and attempted to discern whether the attitude was generalized or directed at her in particular. Her Force sense was met with a feeling of fogginess as though she were being misdirected.  
  
"Here ya go. Five credits." She set the steaming caf on the countertop.  
  
"_Five_ credits?" She couldn't help the surprised tone in her voice.  
  
"Got a problem with that?"  
  
"Erm, no. Just more pricey than I was expecting."  
  
The woman glared at her, then shifted her gaze out the two-story high windows.  
  
_That was productive,_ Spark thought, turning away with the caf held carefully. The union was still near-empty. She sipped the caf, thinking over the strange Force sense she'd had off the employee.  
  
Tapping consciously into the Force again, she extended her sense out to encompass the buliding itself and all that it included. Physically, she swayed and nearly fell over. Spark pulled her energy back and quickly sat down.  
  
_What in the...?_  
  
Spark was not always the most logical of Jedi as she operated almost exclusively with intuition; still, the fact that Force disturbances had all but incapacitated Jana and her on the voyage to Correlia _and_ they evidently continued now on-planet, she had to believe the events were related.   
  
Feeling the dizziness wear away, she left the building and continued touring around the campus, caf in hand. Spark considered signalling Jana and Kenjiro but decided to wait for any further information she could gather.  
  
_If it has something to do with the school, think this through: what departments would be involved?_ she thought. _Behavioral sciences. Physical sciences. Experimentation involved in both._   
  
Spark repressed a shudder at the thought.  
  
She halted, searching her memory for her own mental map of the campus layout. Behavioral scienes would be in the building behind her while physical sciences was still ahead. _Which one first?_  
  
The Force held no glimmer of a clue for her, so she opted for behavorial sciences first, using the Force sensitivity of the children as justification. Experimentation on captured Jedi or the strongly Force sensitive was not a new concept in the galaxy, after all.  
  
She could only hope they weren't too late.  
  
  
  



	8. A Lead

Just like in the previous chapters, ownership rights remain the same. ;) Thank you to those of you who have reviewed - it's nice to see feedback. Onward and upward, we head into Chapter Eight.  
  
**Twins**  
--sparkvallen  
  
Kenjiro tended over Jana's slumped and unconscious form as best he could. He could feel her essence through the Force and knew that mentally/spiritually she was fine; whatever she'd sensed by touching the door had knocked her out without causing inner damage.  
  
He thumbed the comlink to signal Spark. This could not wait.   
  
"What is it, Kenjiro?" her voice came crisply.  
  
"Jana is down. I think you should be here... since you are the sensitive one."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"We found where the children are located. So Jana said. When she reached out to open the entryway, she collapsed," he reported.  
  
"Injuries?"  
  
"None. Just unconscious."  
  
Without hesitation, Spark replied, "I'll be there as quickly as I can. I'm sure there is a connection at the university's behavioral sciences department, but I haven't been able to find any leads. Everything's closed down for the night."  
  
"Understood. Peace be with you," Kenjiro said with a nod.  
  
Shutting down the comlink transmission, he watched Jana's eyes flicker rapidly behind her eyelids. "Hang on, Jana," he whispered.  
  
  
  
++++++++++  
  
  
  
_So many. So many. How can there be so many in here?   
  
//Jana Vnukova! Help us! You're here! YOu can save us!// Their cries made her Force sense wince and tears come to her eyes.  
  
She looked around. There had to be **hundreds** of children in the subterranean cavern. Hundreds! More than any of the HoloNet reports had quantified!   
  
//Jana, please!//  
  
Her soul ached for them. Each child had been forced into a cramped animal cage. No room for the children to stand, much less move at all. Their backs were rounded, forcing them into a cross-legged position with their heads drooped over.   
  
//I'm here,// she said to them, and for the first time realized that none of the communication had been verbal. They were speaking directly into her mind with the Force.  
  
How could anyone do this to children? And Force sensitives? Why?  
  
//Help us! We can't escape without you!//  
  
Jana looked around the cramped space. Cages were stacked three or four high in some places, all filled with starved and weak children. She could see no exit. Remembering, Jana looked toward the ceiling and spotted the ancient root cellar entrance, high above her.  
  
How do I...? She faltered.   
  
//Help us!//  
  
She looked at the many faces who's wide eyes pleaded. Their Force touch hurt her mind. It was so difficult to concentrate! Pressing her hands to her temples, she pushed until it hurt, trying to gain control over her own emotions and to censor theirs to a degree.  
  
//Help us!//  
  
//I can't!// she exclaimed before collapsing.  
  
  
  
_ +++++++++++  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Spark had arrived and Kenjiro had summarized all that had transpired since their comlink conversation. He described the dream-like REM state that Jana seemed to be in.  
  
"--it's a vision," Spark interrupted.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I am seeing it through her eyes," she said. "Jana is seeing the interior of the cavern beneath us, where the children are help captive. They are _screaming_ for help, but from inside, she has no way to help them."  
  
Spark closed her eyes, watching Jana's vision.  
  
"Dare we wake her?" Kenjiro asked. He ran his palm over Jana's forehead.  
  
"No..." she said slowly, thinking. "She's collapsed in the vision now from stress, but I think we could harm her by waking her before she's ready."  
  
"Then what do we do?"  
  
"I could enter a trance to track her down," Spark said slowly, "and help her wake herself up from the vision."  
  
Kenjiro gave her a doubtful look. "Then how do we wake you, lady? No way. You're not going to play the hero. We're a team in this."  
  
"Then what do you suggest?"  
  
"We wait. And continue to gather evidence."  
  
"You'll stay with her then?" she asked.  
  
Kenjiro pointed out the late hour. "We all stay here tonight," he said. "Get our rest. I want to be able to watch over you _both_ since the Force is doing strange things to you. Then in the morning, perhaps Jana will be awake. And then, you can explore the university."  
  
"Fair enough," Spark said reluctantly.  
  
  
  
++++++++++++++++++   
  
  
  
By dawn, Jana's state had not changed. Spark and Kenjiro hovered over her quiet form, watching her steady breathing.  
  
Spark concentrated through the Force and was able to see that Jana - in her vision - was stirring and returning to consciousness there. She relayed this to Kenjiro, that she was coming around.  
  
"Good, or I would think we'd need to contact the Council on this."  
  
She nodded. "I'm going back to the university to see what I can find out from the departments themselves. See what they might have to say to a Jedi."  
  
"May the Force be with you, Spark Vallen," Kenjiro said.  
  
"And with you both." She paused, watching Jana still. "I'll be in contact."  
  
The walk to the campus was as quiet as it had been in the twilight of the previous evening. Spark continued to find that strange; where were the students? Why wasn't it hustling and bustling?  
  
She heard as well as sensed a spike of energy from the same common area that she'd visited the night before. Hurrying her pace, Spark rushed in to find a woman, screaming and wailing on one of the couches. A small crowd had clustered around her, looking on but failing to step forward to help the woman.  
  
Spark shoved her way through the crowd and sat down beside her. "Can I help you? What's wrong?"  
  
"My **_baby_**!" the younger woman screamed. "She's gone!"  
  
Her Force sense prickled. She asked, "Kidnapped?"  
  
"The bastards took her! This morning! I ran in to her room! And she was gone!"  
  
_A direct lead..._ Spark rested her hand on the woman's shoulder and willed her compassion and peace toward the student.   
  
The woman's breath hitched in her throat and her wild tears began to subside.  
  
"I think I can help you. My name is Spark Vallen. You are...?"  
  
"Alethea Var'dactal. You can help me?"  
  
Spark frowned at the crowd. "You can go on now. Show's over."  
  
As they dissipated, she went on. "Yes, I think so. Alethea, can we go to your dorm or apartment? May I have a look around? To search for clues that might help find your daughter?"  
  
Overwhelmed, she could only nod. Spark followed her across the campus to the dormitories.   
  
The apartment itself was located in the "family units" area of student housing, where those with families could live on campus together. They were small two-bedroom dorms with a common living area for eating, lounging and studying. The rooms were immaculate and intact. No sign of forced entry or a struggle.  
  
"Alethea, approximately when did this happen?"  
  
"Around five," she said through tears. "I... I was just coming in to get her ready for day care. And she was gone!"  
  
"And you think its part of the kidnappings that have been going on."  
  
She nodded. "What else?"  
  
_What else indeed?_  
  
Spark took time to investigate the small nursery with the tools she'd learned about investigation, then risked using the Force to gather any residual emotions and motive.  
  
"I need to contact my colleagues," Spark said to Alethea. She pulled her comlink from her belt.  
  
"What are you? Detectives? OH!" she exclaimed, suddenly noticing the lightsaber hilt.  
  
Spark winked and proceeded to comm Kenjiro's frequency.  
  
"What've you got, Spark?"   
  
"A kidnapping this morning. Infant, human female around five this morning," she reported. "I'm with the mother now. No forced entry. Clean room. Through the Force," she reported, "the motive feels like experimentation."  
  
"Experimentation?" Alethea gasped.  
  
Spark put a reassuring hand out toward her - which she accepted - then she continued. "Force experimentation. I'm convinced that it's Force-related research going on. The baby here is a Force sensitive."  
  
"Force sensitive? My Amee?"  
  
"That's what Jana has said as well," Kenjiro responded. "She woke just moments before you commed. "She's fine and strong, but also thinks that this is related to Force experimentation on the children."  
  
Alethea gave her a frightened look.   
  
"I'm heading to the behavioral sciences offices now then," Spark said.   
  
The mother's eyes widened. "That's who it is!" she shouted.  
  
"Spark, out." To Alethea, she said, "You know this how?"  
  
Rapidly, she explained, "A survey last fall for the student body! About Force sensitivity in our heritage! They were trying to trace it through blood lines and--"  
  
"Good enough for me to work with," Spark said knowingly. "Stay here, Alethea. I'll head over there and find out what else I can. We know where the children are; the other Jedi are at that location now."  
  
"You'll find Amee?"  
  
"We will. I'll comm you as soon as I have her in my arms," she promised. 


	9. The Truth Comes Out

All the same copyrights and disclaimers apply to this chapter too. ;)  
  
  
  
**Twins**, Chapter Nine  
--sparkvallen  
  
"I'm sorry. The dean's schedule is really booked up today," the petite Rodian secretary informed her.  
  
"I just need a moment of his time," Spark said easily. "Just a moment."  
  
"I don't think there's a single moment he can fit you in without making an appointment."  
  
They had had this discussion four times already. Spark had to wonder if it was really a droid with a limited script rather than a sentient being sitting there. Following the established routine, she said, "But I wouldn't be able to have an appointment for at least a week, correct?"  
  
"Affirmative."  
  
Continuing the routine, she said, "Then I'll just sit and wait here for a while and see if I can catch a moment when he comes out of his office."  
  
The Rodian's dark eyes watched her dubiously, then continued on with the clerical work.   
  
Though the Force had been wreaking some physical havoc on Spark since the mission had begun, she risked directing her energy toward the office door and trying to ascertain if the dean was even _in_ the office. She had her doubts. Through her mind's eyes, she could pick up the layout of the furniture, the chairs and desk, the datapad... and curiously, no life energy.  
  
"When did you say he'll be back?" she asked suddenly.  
  
The secretary's snout quivered, a sure sign of being caught. "Back? He's in his office right now. He's just terribly busy."  
  
"He's not in and you are going to tell me where he is." She inflected as much Force persuasion as she could without feeling woozy.  
  
"The lab," she said simply.  
  
_A-ha._ Spark hesitated though. "Which lab?"  
  
The Rodian's snout looked like it might shake right off her face. "Wha-- what do you mean?"  
  
"You'll tell me in which lab I can find the dean."  
  
"He... he's at... the farm," she reluctantly admitted.  
  
Spark whirled out of the office without another word. _I can't believe he'd inform his secretary of the kidnappings,_ she thought to herself, hurrying down the hall.  
  
She commed Kenjiro.  
  
"I'm here, Spark."  
  
"Kenjiro, I didn't mean with the team but have the proof from his secretary that the dean is involved in the kidnappings. He's on your site."  
  
"Jana is recovering and conscious. We'll wait for your arrival here to make our move," he reported.  
  
"Roger that. I'm about 10 minutes away at a run," she said.  
  
"Good. We won't have much more time than that. May the Force be with you."   
  
  
  
+++++++++++   
  
  
  
"Kenjiro, I'm _fine_," Jana insisted, having sat up against his wishes and began dusting herself off.  
  
"You were unconscious almost 18 hours and you're going to tell me you're fine, lady? I don't think so," he admonished. But he was smiling.  
  
"I saw the children."  
  
"I know; Spark was able to watch your vision."  
  
Jana nodded. "They're suffering. We have to find a way down there."  
  
"Spark's on her way now. She was able to find proof that the university is involved in the experimentation."  
  
"I know. I saw him down there. He's high up in the university," she said. "But I was ghost-like and couldn't do anything to stop him. Their Force experiments on the poor children."  
  
"Did you see any other way in there? Because obviously, he didn't come in this way." Kenjiro nodded toward the ancient storm cellar-like entrance. "I've been here the entire time with you."  
  
She frowned and gazed down at the handle that had knocked her into the Force vision. "He was just suddenly... there. I don't know how to get in."  
  
"We'll find a way then."  
  
"Spark's here," Jana said, looking through the field.  
  
She sprinted to them, her chest-heaving. "Couldn't risk passing out by using the Force again to enhance my running. Sorry."  
  
"No worries," Jana said. She smiled a little, thinking of that as her mentor's oft said phrase.  
  
Spark nodded toward her.  
  
"We were just discussing how to find a way in," Kenjiro said.  
  
"The farm house," she said without hesitation.  
  
Jana and Kenjiro craned their heads to look at the dwelling in the distance. Enlightenment dawned on Jana. "This is his home."  
  
Spark nodded. "I'm sure of it. He has an entryway through the basement of the home. That's going to be how we have to go in."  
  
Kenjiro looked to Jana. "Do you feel ready?"  
  
"I can still hear the children in my mind, my friend. I _have_ to be ready."  
  
Through the Force, they connected on a deeper level that was sometimes known as a "Force meld." In the meld, they would know each other's reactions on a close level so that their joined efforts were fluid and easy.  
  
"May the Force be with us..." Jana whispered.  
  
  
  



	10. And Further Truths Come Forth?

At the same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel... oops, wrong universe. ;) Welcome back to _Twins_ where we are nearing the fic's conclusion. Thank you all for suspending disbelief and joining me in a galaxy far, far, away. All the usual disclaimers apply!  
  
**Twins**, X  
--sparkvallen  
  
Within minutes of approaching the dwelling, the Jedi knew the main residence was deserted. Force sensing skills and the latest technology had a way of assuring that.  
  
Mindful of a trap or set up, Jana crossed the threshold into the home with care. Kenjiro and Spark followed behind her, Kenjiro at the rear as the guard point.   
  
Other than for a warning, the Jedi had agreed to limit communication of any sort to the minimum. They knew each other all well enough as it was to _know_ what the other would need in order to anticipate. Spark fanned out to the left of Jana, checking the sitting room off the kitchen. Kenjiro moved to the right and glanced up the staircase to the upper floors.  
  
He looked back and nodded silently. Spark and Jana nodded as well.  
  
They slowly approached what Spark had said would be the entry point to the lower floor. Jana was quietly relieved to have had her on the mission since her personal knowledge of the region had been such an asset.  
  
Jana depressed the button that would open the basement door.  
  
Nothing!  
  
The Jedi had planned for this contingency. Jana stepped back and Kenjiro approached the control panel for the door. One of his specialties was in technology and electronics. Though they'd never call him a "lockpick" as if he were a criminal himself, the Jedi Knight certainly had the technical skills to override the door's locking mechanism in a neat and efficient way. _No lightsaber needed!_ he thought to himself.  
  
In moments, the barrier whisked open to reveal the descending staircase. There was illumination which was fortuante as they'd decided that were the lights off, they weren't going to turn them on.   
  
Spark led them down the stairs, moving cautiously, step-by-step. The descending stairs led them lower - she realized - than a normal basement would be in a dwelling. Growing up on Corellia and knowing its architecture had its advantages.   
  
Through the Force, Jana and Spark could still feel the cries for help from the children who were so close by. Kenjiro could only faintly detect their energy being directed to the Jedi; somehow, they were targeting the two women specifically.   
  
Spark stopped and peered as best she could through the gloom, trying to get a sense of the room the stairs stopped in. Her intuition said that this was the basement proper, despite it being so much lower than a normal one would have been built.  
  
_Up there!_ Jana signalled through the Force. Kenjiro and Spark followed the direction she'd sent to them, staring up at the slightest sliver of light in the ceiling.  
  
_Tricky,_ Spark thought. _The actual basement was closed in. We bypassed it unknowingly to this false one._  
  
Wordlessly, the significantly taller Kenjiro approached the drop-down section of the ceiling. Were they on the second floor of the home, this would've been access to an attic. He could have used the Force to pull the access point into reach, but the Jedi were concerned still about tipping off the manic dean of their presence.  
  
Stretching to his tiptoes, Kenjiro just barely grapsed the handle and pulled the small staircase down.   
  
_HELP US!_  
  
Jana and Spark reeled at the intensity that the children shouted to them. Jana had bit her lip in surprise and frowned at the taste of her own blood in her mouth.  
  
_We have to hurry!_ she sent to them.  
  
Kenjiro climbed the ladder first with the other two on his heels. They found themselves in a chamber with a low-ceiling. Spark realized this was the original basement to the home. A storm cellar. They were close then.  
  
She pointed toward an even narrower tunnel that she could only sense through the Force. It wasn't even visible the way crates and boxes had been crammed into the tiny space.  
  
With a nod of agreement on where to head next, they began climbing around and over the barriers toward the tunnel's entrance. This - they knew - would lead them toward the separate root cellar that was in the farm field itself. The cries across the Force of the kidnapped, tortured children grew more fervent the closer they came.   
  
The tunnel's height forced them to crawl as quickly as they could. It would put them in an awkward defensive position if they'd already tripped off some alert, coming out crawling into their destination, but it couldn't be avoided.   
  
_HELP!_  
  
Spark gritted her teeth against the Force blast and willed herself to remain conscious. Kenjiro shifted some of his own energy toward Jana to help her remain alert.  
  
The tunnel's mouth opened up near the ceiling of the chamber where the children were held captive. Peering out cautiously, Kenjiro could see there were cages holding children stretching to the ceiling across the room from him. He couldn't get close enough to see - but instead, sensed - that it was the same immediately below the opening.  
  
_We've come in a different way after all,_ he realized.  
  
He leaned against the tunnel wall as far as he could so that Jana could slither forward to peer out. The room matched the location in her vision exactly. She dared not lean any further forward since they couldn't see the college dean in the room yet. On the ceiling, Jana could see the latch that would've opened the passage leading to the field.  
  
Behind them, Spark began formulating how to get the children out safely. Like Kenjiro, she understood that they'd come in a different way than the dean evidently used. The route had been of service to them, but it'd be a deathtrap trying to hurry weakened and pained children through the tunnel and through the house itself, not to mention incredibly risky. The dean's route was unexplored and likely a trap as well. She glanced out the tunnel and toward that access hatch in the ceiling, thinking.  
  
"Well, here you all are," boomed the human male voice. "As if you were going somewhere in my absence!"  
  
The Jedi listened intently, crawling backward in the tunnel to avoid visual detection.   
  
"My secretary says there are Jedi afoot on the campus! Looking for you, I'd imagine," he continued. "Not that they'd find you here, my Force sensitive little darlings!"  
  
Jana cringed.  
  
"No, no! You're safe here with me..."  
  
_Trouble,_ Kenjiro risked Force-sending to them. Still the closest to the mouth of the tunnel, he could see that the children across the room had spotted them. They were pointing and staring across to their hiding place. It would only be moments before--  
  
"Oh!" came the cocky voice. "They have found you after all, have they? How foolish of me to think they wouldn't! Good Jedi that they are!"  
  
The trio blended into their Force meld and jointly knew what they had to do. As always, the plan was to contain the oppressor since he would have to be dealt with directly rather than after rescuing the children.  
  
_You two get those children out! I'll handle him,_ Kenjiro sent.  
  
Knowing this was the best plan with the Force link to the captives, the women nodded. Kenjiro inched forward in the tunnel, his lightsaber in hand. Spark wrapped her mind around the ceiling access and began to work its locking mechanism through the Force. At the same time, Jana - who was most familiar with the chamber itself - began silently unlocking each cage with the Force. She did her best to calm the children with her presence and urge them to wait for their signal.  
  
Kenjiro landed lightly on the balls of his feet and quickly gained his balance. He stood not three meters from the college dean. He stood not three meters from the dean, silent.  
  
"And there he is."  
  
Without using the Force but injecting authority into his voice nonetheless, Kenjiro said, "This ends now. Let the children go free."  
  
"Of course I will," he said easily. There was no sound of concern that a Jedi Knight stood in his hideaway at all. "I intend to. Once I am finished with my experimentation, of course."  
  
Silently, the cage locks continued to slide aside. To the children's credit, they remained quiet and watchful of the scene before them, waiting as Jana had asked.  
  
"You're violating so many laws that it would work much better for you to end this peacefully," Kenjiro suggested.  
  
"Laws? Bah! There are no man-made laws that matter in the name of research! Come now, Master Jedi! Surely you understand that Force research is imperative to understanding our purpose! Our lives!"  
  
Kenjiro glanced at the cages of children dubiously. "By kidnapping children and experimenting on them?"  
  
"Well, it's not as though Jedi spring up everyday to volunteer!"  
  
"Knowing about the Force - especially through these means - will not lead you to any deeper understanding of the Force," the Jedi Knight said evenly. "Any Jedi would tell you that that understanding and purpose comes from within. And only from within."  
  
Above them, Spark had mastered the locking mechanism so that on cue, she could release the hatch.  
  
"Ah, great philosophy, Master Jedi!" He sneered. "Research is my life and through these means, only then can I understand!"  
  
_He's gone mad. We have to act now._  
  
To the dean, Kenjiro said, "These children do not hold the keys to your research on the Force. You will end this now."  
  
"Like hell I will! You can't stop me!" he screamed. The dean pulled a blaster from his coat and took quick aim on Kenjiro.  
  
His blue lightsaber flashed to life. This would be no easy task, Kenjiro knew. He'd have to deflect the blaster bolts in such a way that they did not ricochet back and hit the children! Taking each shot with precision, he deflected them into the floor.  
  
The access point to the field swung open suddenly. Surprised, the captive children squealed at once. The dean swung his blaster around at the noise, preparing to fire on them in his panic.  
  
Jana flung herself from the mouth of the tunnel, using the Force to propel herself toward him across the room. With an "oof!", her weight threw him to the floor. Kenjiro Force-pulled the blaster from his grip.  
  
Kenjiro quickly came to her aid, helping secure the dean with binders with the cheers of the children ringing in his ears.  
  
Spark carefully came down from the tunnel to join them. The children cheered again. She commed the local police to signal their location and that they'd found the missing children.  
  
"We're secure now," Kenjiro said, standing up.   
  
"Why don't we hold him where he's held the children?" Jana suggested. The older Knight was unsure of the look in her eyes as she said this, but Kenjiro couldn't deny that it would be a good way to keep him contained under the police arrived.  
  
As Spark was already helping the kids from their cells, Kenjiro and Jaan led him into one and locked the cage. He shouted and stammered his protests and threats. Jana gave him one level stare and he fell silent.  
  
Kenjiro said, "I'll comm Master Aaron to let him know the situation has been handled."  
  
"You're all going to be fine now," Jana said to them. "We're having the police come to help us out of here and you can go home to your parents."  
  
Breathing a sigh of relief, hearing the sirens already in the distance, Spark asked them, "How did you all manage to hone in on Jana and me? That is a very strong talent you have to call for help like that."  
  
"You are heroines to us," one small boy explained. "We all know of Jedi Spark Vallen and Jana Vnukova of Corellia. Who else could save us but you?"  
  
Spark and Jana exchanged confused looks.   
  
"I'm not Corellian though," Jana admitted.  
  
Another child - a girl - corrected her. "You grew up away from Corellia. But you are Corellian."  
  
Jana's eyes widened. "What are you talk--?"  
  
"Hello down there!" Everyone looked up to see the faces of their rescue team peering through the hatch. "Who would like to go home down there?"  
  
The children giggled as they hadn't in months. "We do!"  
  
As the rescue team began their task, and Kenjiro continued his update to the Council, Jana whispered to Spark, "Mystery upon mysteries, maybe there is more to our joke about being twins than we'd known!"   
  
END 


End file.
